Scality Extends Multi-Cloud Storage to Azure

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A host of infrastructure vendors are attempting to broaden their cloud footprint as more enterprises hedge their bets with hybrid and multi-cloud strategies.

Among them is software-defined object and cloud storage vendor Scality, which announced this week it is offering a cloud connection tool that extends its object storage beyond Amazon Web Services’ (NASDAQ: AMZN) Simple Storage Service, or S3, to include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Azure Blob Storage. The connection stores data in an Azure native format and allows any application that works with AWS S3 to support Azure Blob Storage without modification.

As enterprises leverage multiple clouds for different applications, San Francisco-based Scality said Wednesday (Sept. 27) users want to avoid having to support multiple programming interfaces for those applications. The new connection eliminates the need for modifications by implementing the cloud connection as a stateless container within a customer’s Azure subscription.

Along with scaling, the cloud connection also is touted as addressing data security requirements since data never leaves a customer’s cloud subscription.

The storage connection automatically translates AWS S3 API calls to Azure Blob Storage requests to run S3 applications on Azure. Data is stored in Azure native format so it can be accessed via Azure cloud services such as machine learning, business intelligence and analytics tools.

Supporting multi-cloud deployments “while maintaining the ability to store some data on-premises is a strategic priority for enterprises,” Wally MacDermid, vice president of Scality’s cloud business development unit, noted in a statement.

In July, Scality released an open source data controller geared toward application developers seeking multi-cloud storage options. Its Zenko data controller is built around a cross-cloud interface based on an AWS S3 API. The interface allows developers, for example, to link to a cloud with the same API and access layer while at the same time storing data in its native format.

The Zenko controller is based on Scality’s S3 server, the open source implementation of the AWS storage API. Scality said it is releasing new code for the data controller to the open source community under an Apache 2.0 license.

The data controller works with Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, Docker application containers and Scality’s RING software-defined file and object storage platform. The company also said Zenko would also be available soon for other cloud platforms.

Scality is targeting application developers looking to speed deployment of distributed apps. Many current applications must still be rewritten to support individual clouds. The duplication makes multiple clouds more expensive. The company asserts that its tools would allow developers to build applications once and then deploy them across different cloud services.

That latest Scality cloud connection tool will be available “in the next few weeks” as an application on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, the storage vendor said.

Elsewhere, data management vendors are also expanding their platforms to support the leading public cloud providers. Cloud data management specialist Rubrik said this week the latest release of its platform adds support for Google Cloud Platform along with application support for Azure Stack and new services backing AWS government cloud offerings.